Update: with Chromecast app update to 1.9.6, Android screen casting (screen mirroring) is available in ALL Android devices with Android KitKat 4.4.2 or later versions.

As announced in Google I/O 2014, Chromecast would get some nice update and new features. We will discuss these new features in later posts once they are available;e publicly

One of the most exciting new features of Chromecast is screen mirroring (or screen casting) for Android devices. You can mirror whatever on your Android devices to a TV without using any apps (of course, for non-Nexus devices, you need Chromecast app) including audio.

Now, with Chromecast app update (to 1.7.4), screen mirroring with Chromecast is now fully working on some selected (models) Android devices.

Why screen mirroring with Chromecast is an exciting feature?

The major drawbacks of wireless display with Android devices include:

The mediocre performance of casting from some Android devices. Sometimes, the lag is unacceptable. Synchronization of audio and video is another major problem on some Android devices when using wireless display. Please note, wireless display is usually only enabled in some high-end Android devices. Most Android vendors disable this feature in low-end devices partially due to performance issues.

The receiver also matters! Some TVs (with Miracast support) work quite well with wireless display; while some don’t although they are also Miracast certified. Some Miracast dongles/adapters work well; some don’t.

Apparently, screen mirroring with Chromecast addressed these two issues very well.

The performance of screen mirroring with Chromecast is surprisingly good. I didn’t experience any issues in watching videos, streaming music, playing games during my 3-day testing with Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3 and Nexus 4. It is as stable and reliable as many formal features. I don’t know why Google still consider this as a beta feature.

The screen mirroring with Chromecast is an exciting new feature for most Chromecast owners for the following reasons:

It does not rely on individual app developers. You don’t have to wait for the app developer to add Chromecast support.

It works with all TVs with HDMI port.

It is not limited to media. The TV simply is your second screen.

It is deadly simple to use (at least as simple as wireless display).

It is free. It is just added value for your $35.

The performance may be far better than your expectation of a $35 device.

What Android devices can use screen mirroring with Chromecast now?

Screen mirroring with Chromecast (or screen casting as the official term) requires Android Kitkat 4.4.2 or higher and is currently supported on the following devices ONLY:

Update on December 11, 2014: with Chromecast app update to 1.9.6, Android screen casting (screen mirroring) is available in ALL Android devices with Android KitKat 4.4.2 or later versions. Please refer to this post on the details.

How to use screen mirroring with Chromecast?

For Nexus or Google Play edition devices, you can go to Settings-Display–cast screen to enable it. You can also access it from Quick Settings–Cast screen.

For other devices, you need install (very likely, you already installed it) Chromecast app and make sure it is updated to 1.7.4 or later versions.

Once opening the Chromecast app, you will be greeted by the message “Cast Screen now available”. Once you dismiss this message, you should find the cast screen in the menu as shown below.

Tap the cast screen button to find and connect to the Chromecast. Once screen is mirrored, you can close this app. You can now run any apps and everything will be displayed in the TV. Audio will also be transferred to TV.

This screen mirroring with Chromecast is confusing for Samsung users

The official name of the screen mirroring with Chromecast is “cast screen” or screen casting.

But I often call it screen mirroring, and it is hard for me to change. This may cause confusion among Samsung users because Samsung used screen mirroring for their Allshare casting, which essentially is an improved implementation Miracast. Based on my experience, Samsung did the best job on implementing Miracast on Android. Their implementation was even earlier than that in Android Jelly Bean 4.2, and works better than other Android vendors’ device.

Anyway, now in some Samsung devices, you have another way to mirror your screen with Chromecast.

Do you have any questions on screen mirroring with Chromecast (or Chromecast screen casting)?

Please let us know your questions or problems on screen mirroring with Chromecast in the comment box below.

Discussion on screen mirroring (screen casting) with Chromecast is also welcomed.

By “an active WiFi connection” I mean to say through a router or other device. So Chromecast does NOT work like Miracast in that it uses a “WiFI direct” connection from the source (Galaxy S5) to the dongle. And so with Chromecast, if I am in some backwoods hotel without WiFi and no 3/4G data connection, the device will not work at all because there isn’t an option to connect directly without a working internet connection?

I tried this today.. It requires internet connection for the initial setup. Later I connected it to mobile hotspot– with data turned off. It worked for me. Although it shows a warning message saying some of the features may not available, I was able to stream chrome browser contents from my laptop.

I tested mirroring on my two devices, both running CM11 : Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Tab 2. Here my feedback. Without modify and with chromecast app, no way to mirroring because the option cast screen is not available. After installed the app MirrorEnable of a xda member, which enable to mirroring on all devices non official supported, I can select the option cast screen to test mirroring on my devices. No luck again, mirroring didn’t work at all on my devices. When I launch cast screen on my device, the process start, the chromecast detect the process but on my device the Google services crash and interrupt the process. Mirroring didn’t start. The screen casting didn’t work even a few seconds. The others functions of chromecast work. Now, I am disgusted, because I bought chromecast to watch youtube on my TV and not the famous mirroring, even if my two devices running Android 4.4.4 (CM11).

Ok just to be clear. I’m using a note 3. If I get chromecast, will chromecast need to be connected to wifi router in order to just screen cast or mirror the screen? I’m a teacher, and wanted to use chromecast to go over lessons and powerpoints, nothing with the internet. Thanks.

All I want to do is mirror my Samsung galaxy s5 to my tv using chromecast ,I dont have a wifi connection at my home. But since I just want to play my Netflix through my phone with my phone 4g and watch Netflix on my phone like normal , why won’t it still work if I’m just mirroring the image to my tv? Why would I need Internet wifi still if Netflix plays through my phone fine through my cellphone data?

I understand what you want to do. But unfortunately, Chromecast currently requires a physical router with active internet connection. It is possible, Google may lift some restrictions on these in the future. But there is no timetable or roadmap foe this yet.

For your case, my recommendation is using Miracast, which is fully supported in S5. What you need is a Miracast supported TV OR a Miracast dongle/adapter for the TV. You may check the guide in my signature on using Miracast.

It probably only adds to the confusion when you say “Google may lift restrictions on these in the future”. Chromecast depends 100% on an existing wi-fi network in the home. If there’s no wi-fi, the Chromecast dongle is a lump of plastic, completely useless.

Google might make a completely new product which doesn’t require wi-fi, but that would be a new product. Chromecast if a wi-fi gadget. Google could make their own Miracast dongle, but they didn’t. They could add Miracast to Chromecast, but they haven’t and probably won’t because then they can’t track what you’re watching and sending to the TV.

Hi Marcus, I came across your thread here as I experienced exactly the same problem with my S4 and Chromecast when I set it up yesterday. Worked once, and then second time around S4 froze when screen cast connection was made. Had to remove battery from S4 and reinsert to get it running again. Tried to screen cast a number of times but every time same rsult. S4 med Andrioid 4.4.2 and CC v. 1.7.4.

A bit of a novice – have a Samsung 10.1 2014, downloaded the app (v 1.7.4) installed it – started the app – options are available except (as per screenshot above) except for the ‘Cast Screen’ option , under devices it shows my Chromecast device with a ‘Ready to cast’ text in blue underneath. What am I missing? Why is no ‘Cast Screen’ option even though it’s meant to be supported by my device? – Thanks Luis

I have the same problem as mentioned above. I have samsung GT p6200 and have installed CM11 4.4.4. But the minute i click on screen cast from chromecast app, i get a message, unfortunately google play services stopped working and then it never mirrors to the tv. Any ideas how i can over come this?

Thank you for your immediate reply, but then does it mean that with a rooted tab its not possible to cast? Also google has not given any upgrades for GTP6200 after 4.1.2 i guess and this functionality requires 4.4.2 and above if I am right? So do you think its worthwhile for me to downgrade and unroot the tab and try again? or is it that I have go for a new tab/phone? Also if its a software issue with regards to that error msg, is there any solution anyone has, regarding the google play services?

Thanks for the reply. Sorry don’t mean to be completely ignorant. You say they are compatible but can’t screen cast with the tab 3. So does that mean i won’t be able to watch netflix with tab 3 and chromcast.

Chromecast can work in many ways. If the app supports Chromecast, you can stream to Chromecast as long as you can use the app. In this case, Netflix supports Chromecast, so whenever you can use Netflix app, you can choose to stream to Chromecast.

This post is discussing another way of using Chromecast. You can mirror the screen of your Android device to Chromecast. It is independent to any apps. Just image that tv can be your second screen for your Android device through Chromecast. This feature only works on selected android devices. Tab3 is not supported yet.

Hey, I have a Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 with the 4.4.2 software. Any updates on if that will also work with the chromecast screen sharing. It is new so I haven’t been able to find much info on screen sharing. I want to wirelessly connect to HDMI projectors for presentations

Bit confused. I have a Samsung Note 10.1 2014 Edition and chromecast works fine with netfix, youtube, watchespn. However my primary need it to mirror from the chrome browser in order to do client presentations with info from web sites. I seem to have the latest updates. It worked when I first set it up but hasn’t since. I have two devices in two different conference rooms and neither work. Do I need to get the miramax device?

If you upgraded the Note 10.1 2014 edition to KitKat, you can start the Chromecast app in the tablet, then you should have the option of casting the whole screen, as long as your Chromecast and tablet are connected to the same router. What do you mean it didn’t work? Any error messages? You need also monitor the TV screen. Occasionally, you may need unplug the power for Chromecast, then try again.

Of course, Note 10.1 2014 edition supports Miracast. If your TV supports Miracast, you can mirror the screen directly to the TV without using any apps or adapters. If your TV does not support Miracast, you need get a Miracast adapter (usually around $50-$100).

If the presentation is important, you may try to have more than one solution…You don’t want to put all eggs in one basket.

Hi! Apologies for butting in, and for asking a question that was perhaps amply addressed already. On my MOTO G, with Android 4.4.4, the Cast Screen function exists and is clickable. My reading of this thread is that it will not work, at least until mirroring is officially released, and MAYBE NOT even then. Please correct me, if I misread. Thanx!

I have a MOTO E and Nexus 7 (2012). How can I connect any/both of these two devices to any/both of my two Televisions – 1. Samsung Series-4 42″ Plasma TV (bought in 2009) 2. Samsung MHL Enabled Smartphone Ready FULL HD TV 32″ (bought in 2013). I have a DSL modem-router and internet connection at my place. If I cannot use Chromecast, is there any other possible way.

Video on TV is freezing from pc only. I have a pc, laptop, Nexus 5 and Nexus 7. All will chromecast to either of 2 TV’s equipped. Suddenly, my pc only has a problem. When casting from a chrome tab only (mirroring any video site), the video will play a few seconds and freeze on TV while audio continues on TV and video continues on pc. It does the same to either chromecast equipped TV. Yet, if I play a ‘Google Cast Ready’ site like HBOgo or Youtube, video continues to stream fine.

The laptop, Nexus 5 & 7 continue to cast fine including mirroring video sites to either TV on same network. The pc is a Windows 8.1, fast processor and 16Gb RAM using a wired fast internet connection. It worked great for a month. Suddenly video freezes only while mirroring from Chrome Tab on pc only. The chrome browser uses the same extensions in both pc and laptop (so its unlikely an extension interfering). I attempted to use the new Google Cast ‘Beta’ extension just released per suggestion but it did not help. I disabled virus protection, no help. Much of software on pc is also on laptop. The fact that video runs up to 10 seconds suggests its not software blocking it.

I have Moto E and this device is having that feature but i have checked with high end smart tv from Samsung but its not working. Then today when i have cheked on youtube i found that i have to uninstall play store and after that it work. But my concern is that is there any other way to do so?

Not yet, you have to wait a while until Google release this feature as a formal feature.

Currently, I think you probably know that you can use screen mirroring through Miracast (allshare cast) from note 8.0. If your TV supports Miracast, it should work directly. If not, you can get a Miracast dongle.

For Chromecast, you have to rely on apps. If you want to stream local movies, we have a detailed guide on the 5 possible methods.

I’ve read the screencast quality is quite good but I got stutters while playing videos. I do have an old router that supports 802.11 g, not n. Would that be the issue? When I do app casting via youtube, it was good thou.

we have chromecast on our TV and my husband and I both have galaxy S4 phones. He was able to cast without a problem, then I tried with my phone. I was able to cast, BUT now he can NOT !!! I even uninstalled the app and restarted my phone, but he can’t cast at all. He is NOT happy 🙁 any help would be appreciated

For the TV, Chromecast has no difference to a DVD player. It is just a HDMI source. If it is not detected, you may check the TV source (sometimes, it may be not switched to the active one automatically) and the LED color of the Chromecast.

Chromecast connects to the router individually and has nothing to do with the network connection of the TV.

I am using a nexus 7 (2013) and trying to mirror screen UK tv content whilst in France. I am able to view the content on my tablet using a VPN but am unable to mirror the content to the TV screen. I have tried to view content via the chrome browser but no casting symbol appears in the top right as Google suggests and the chrome cast extension they advise you to install doesn’t exist?

I had hoped this would provide a solution to viewing tv content on a large screen but sp far very disappointed. Any suggestions welcome.

Hi, thanks for your response. I understand there is a way of reconfiguring my router DNS settings to overcome this casting issue. Are you familiar with it and can you offer any advice with regard to the settings required?

What I tried before is flashing the firmware of my idle TP link router with DD-WRT. With DD-WRT, you can configure the uplink to the VPN server. Most router vendors do not give VPN as an option for uplink.

Anyone know why I have problems with Cast Screen on HTC One M7 ? For months it said google play services stopped and now it simply disconnects. I have never gotten it to work with screencast even though it otherwise works fine.

I have been using the cast screen feature from lg g3 for about 2 months now to watch random series stored on my device. As of 3 days ago it keeps droping audio atleast twice if not 4 times for something about 40 minutes long. I would rather not have to constantly disconnect and reconnect to chromecast while watching something.

Altho i have not been able to fix my audio loss issue which i believe might just be the chromecast hardware dying out seeing as how it has become a more frequent problem. I have found a nice glitch which tricks the phone into thinking i am using slimport while infact it is cast screen. If i activate cast screen and switch over to the video file before it actually fully connects it falls into slimport mode and i am able to continue using my phone for other things while it still displays my video file on my tv.

Hello I was wondering if I buy a Chromecast, can I look at websites from my note 3, using the chrome browser on my phone and display what I’m seeing on the web on to my tv using this Chromecast?, or does it only display videos photos etc that I view from my note 3?

For Note 3, direct screen mirroring through Chromecast is supported. So, whatever you can see and listen on you Galaxy Note 3, can be cast to the TV. Of course, web browsing is included, not just videos.

Please note screen mirroring through Chromecast is only supported on selected Android devices as listed in the post. Other mobile devices require apps.

Hi. I’m just setup my new Chromecast. Everything seems ok, On TV I see the network name and the device name and ready to cast on top. YouTube app on my Samsung S4 casting correctly and I can watch on my TV.

Chromecast App shows the device name and it is ready to cast, when I click on the icon cast screen, it says “No Cast devices found.”!

I posted a while ago, my Note 10.1 2014 even though is a supported device did not work with Android 4.4.2. Today it was updated to 4.4.4 and it still doesn’t work, the option to cast screen doesn’t appear. It works on my LG G3

Thanks for you patient replies. I have a Nexus 4 with kitkat so I should be able to mirror (by the way does this depend on the Chromecat model) at all)? I thought I read my Tab 3 Tmobile T217T being a 4G LTE model may be in a unique category, meaning it may be excluded from ever mirroring or even chromecasting through an app. Any info on this tab 3 being uniquely excluded, when/if tab 3s are approved?.Rob

Why did chromecast come out with this and not support 4.3 jelly bean I have sony xperia z and am capable of screen mirror just not to this devise that is advertised to cast screen? When will this be updated to support 4.3 jelly bean so I can use what I paid for?

I’m US based and screen mirroring works perfectly on my HTC One M8. But when I use a proxy server to access UK content, the mirroring immediately stops. It’s like the Chromecast only works with a US Internet connection. Do you think it would help if I purchased a UK Chromecast?

The problem was caused by vpn. It has nothing to do with us or uk model of the device.

Chromecast only works when your it is in the same network. When you connect m8 to vpn, it’s no longer considered as in the same network as that of the Chromecast.

There are two solutions.

Easy solution: get a miracast dongle if your TV doesn’t support miracast.

The other solution is to connect the router directly to your vpn. Then connect both m8 and Chromecast to the router. But for most home routers, you cannot set uplink as vpn. You may have to flash the router firmware to dd-wrt. So, you should only try this if you have a spare router that is supported by dd-wrt. Do some research before flashing the firmware for the router.

I am using a Sony Xperia Z3 from Tmobile. The apps I use for ChromeCast usually have no problem playing both video and audio, but when I go to use the built in ChromeCast app I can not play a movie more than five minutes before the audio drops out. This has happened on every movie format, and it becomes a real nuisance when you are trying to watch a movie. Is there a fix for this?

So I have read all comments and this came up in the first questions.. Using the screen mirror feature and the no wi-fi feature combined. I do not have a wi-fi connection and have an Lg G3 with unlimited data so it would be great to be able to stream videos and just mirror my screen. I read on a couple of articles that there is a beta feature where the chromecast can authorize devices either through a pin or just automatically. Do you think its possible now that several months have gone by? And if not could there be a way to do it using my LG G3 as a mobile hotspot?

I have a samsung galaxy s4 and I just recently found the cast screen option in the chrome cast app. I tried it and I thought the quality was really good. But, just today someone mentioned to me that the casting screen option is not as good of a refresh rate as using a casting app (like allcast, etc.) as opposed to screen mirroring? They said it was only about 66% the quality as opposed to using a casting app. Is that true? Or is the screen casting really just based on your router? I am curious – I have tried the samsung mirroring (built into the phone os) and it was horrible quality – but the chrome cast screen looked to be of much better quality to me.?

If you feel the quality is good enough, you should not bother about such comments .

There are so many ‘experts’ giving wrong info.

The quality depends on the original contents quality and network. Apps cannot do the magic.

Refesh rate is part of the hardware specs of the TV. It is not related to Chromecast.

The quality of the video mainly depends on the bitrate, which is limited by your network and the source file as mentioned. For the resolution, Chromecast is limited to 1080p at 30fps. Normally it works in 720p with variable frame rate depending on your network and source file.

It is in your TV scaling settings. You need check your TV manual to set the scaling. Normally, for most TVs, the default setting is to scale any incoming video to the screen size. Android screen mirroring just sends the screen (and audio) to the TV, and it is up to the TV to do the scaling (because your Zenphone does not know your TV screen size/resolution).

I’ve recently bought a chromecast, but I’m having trouble with the screen mirroring. Everytime I mirror the screen on my tv it works fine for 5/6 seconds, But after that my screen freezes completely. Only way to get my s4 running again is to hard reboot my s4 or wait till it soft reboots itself. Can you help me out please? It’s very frustrating, and I cant find anybody on the internet who can help me out.

I find that casting from an Android device ( Samsung Tab 3) to be a marginal experience. Watch TCM, for example) doesn’t function at all from my tablet, but works fine casting from my desktop PC. Fortunately, the TV is not far away from the desktop!

Help!! I have a Samsung E tablet android 4.4.4 why won’t it cast to chromecast I have downloaded the app it let’s me access YouTube via chromecast but currently won’t let me cast my tablet to it to do anything else? I have tried friends phone and it casts and plays straight away. Am I missing something?

It says android 4.4.4 in settings the cast option is there in the top left corner in the scroll down menu part but when I cast it says casting the screen on tv goes black then says disconnecting. I know it works as the YouTube app that is on the wall in the chromecast app works and casts no problem I wondered if there’s a factory settings on tablet that needs turning off?

But screen casting may fail due to insufficient resources on the device because screen casting is quite resource-intensive. My guess is due to some resource limitations on your tablet.

Casting YouTube is different from screen casting. In YouTube, when you tap casting icon, YouTube app will handle it. So, it is less dependent on other apps/settings. It only requires Android ICS 4.0. It does not need much resource on the Android device

Screen casting on the other hand is more complicated. It requires considerable resources. Only Android KitKat 4.4.2 or later supports it.

Google play movies app supports chromecast. Apps are developed by individual developers. It’s them, not Google, who decide whether the app supports Chromecast. Some content providers also don’t like to support Chromecast for economic considerations or competition.